Game



S. KAWAI Dec. 4 1923.

GAME

Filed Nov. 5, 1921 Patented Dec. 4, 1923.

lJNlTED' TES GAME.

Application filed November 3, 1921. Serial No. 512,431.

To all zollom. it may concern:

Be it known that I, 'SHozABUno KAWAI, a subject of the Emperor of Japan,and a resident of the city, county, and State of New York, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Games, of which the following isa specification.

My invention relates to a game which may be used for public amusement atamusementresorts and parks or it may be used in the home. The object ofmy invention is to provide a game in which a ball is caused to take anirregular and uncertain .course and finally come to rest upon a. supporthaving a number of sockets or recesses in any of which the ball mayfinally stop. These sockets are designated fordifierent values ordifferent counts in the game and are so grouped that one recess in agroup will have greater value in the prizes awarded or in the score orcount of the game. When the ball is started in its course of travel inthe game strikes a foraminous body or screen having openings slightlylarger than the ball. This screen is resilient in order that when theball strikes the wires thereof it, the ball, will rebound and returnagain to the screen before it settles down sufficiently to pass throughthe mesh, and this makes the course of the ball very uncertain andirregular and increases the interest in the game. In the fullestembodiment of my invention, 1 arrange a plurality of these screens sothat the ball passes through them in succession and the screens arearranged out of vertical register in order that as the ball passesthrough an aperture in one it is most oertain to bounce on the onebelow. I

In the drawing forming part of this application,

I Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a game embodying myinvention,

Figure2 is a plan view thereof,

Figure 3 is a sectional View on an enlarged scale, taken on the line 33of Figure 1,

Figure 4 is a similar view taken on the line 4- 4 of Figure 5, and

Figure 5 is a sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken on the line5-5 of Figure 1.

I have shown a cage 1 to confine the ball while passing through itsirregular course and in the drawing this cage comprises inpart, the fourupright posts 2 having feet 3 to restupon a table, the floor, or anyother consists of curved recesses. are arranged in groups.

support. Connected between these several posts, on four sides of arectangle, are the 7 The ban is introduced into the top of t e i cageeither by dropping it from the hand or by dropping it with anymechanical device,

not shown. Near the upper portion of the cage I have-arranged a screen 6crosswise of the cageso that a ball dropped'into the cage will strike onit. This screen, preferably of wire, mesh, is shown attached around itsedges to bars 7 mounted between the several posts 2. The screen isinherently resilient so that if the ball strikeson any of the wires 8thereof the resiliency of the screen will cause the ball to bounceupwardly and return again to the screen. and these operations continueuntil the ball. comes down in register with one of the openings S) ofthe screen or until the ball settles down in its bounding action androlls througho-ne of the screen openings. When the ball passes throughthis screen (in a game having all the features here shown) it strikes ona screen 10 arranged below the first screen, This second'screen issupported on bars 11 like the first one and it is also resilient. Whenthe ball strikes this second screenit rebounds and goes through actionsresembling its actions on the screen 6. This second screen is sopositioned that its wires are out of register with the wires of thescreen 6 as viewed from the top as in Figure 3. Therefore, when the ballpasses through an opening in the screen 6 it is most certain to strikethe wires of the lower screen 10 and thus bound on this latter screenbefore ball falls onto the base 5. This has a surface 12'over which theball may rollbut at differentpositions the base has ball retaining meanswhich, in the present showing, These recesses For instance, the severalrecesses 13,arranged around a recess 14. form one group,and the recesses15, arranged around the recess 16 form another group; and so on, overthewhole base. The recesses'of one group are designated differently fromthose of the other groups. For

green, etc.

- red Whereas the surrounding recesses 13 of the same group are coloredblue; or, this central recess may be specially designated by a star or anumber.

m Operation: The ball is allowed to fall onto the upper screen 6,whereupon it bounces on the vvires of this screenmoving over the screenuntil it comes down in line with one of the apertures or until itsettlesdown enough to roll through an opening. Itthen falls onto the secondscreenlO and the actions here are more or less a repetition of what tookplace on the first screen. From the second screen the ball falls on thebase 5 and it rolls aron-ndon its surf ce 12 and in many cases the ballwill fall into one of the anany recesses. I prefer to use an indieatingor spotting board '17 in conjunction with the game. This has space s lsmarked off and coloredto correspond with the coloringoi the group ofrecesses on the base 5. It likewise has numbers or letters 19corresponding With the numbers of the several groups of recesses A, etc.The player first deposits a coin on one of the spaces 18 of the board17, or places any article thereon to indicate which group of recesses hebelieves the ball Will come to rest in. If there'are several playerseach one will select one of the spaces 18 and place something there toindicate his or her choice. Then the ball is dropped in the manner abovedescribed, and it finally comes to rest in one of the recesses on thebase 5. If the ball finally stops in one of the recesses in group 1,then the i,ave,ooo

player-Who selected the corresponding space o the board 17. will scoreon this play or will in a prize. If the ball stops in one of therecesses 13 of the group A then the player will receive a prizeof lesservalue or Will score some lesser count in the game, but if the ball stopsin the specially designated recess 14 of the group A the winner of theplay will receive a prize of greater value or Will score some highercount than if the ball stopped in one of the recesses 13.

Having described my invention, What I claim is:-

V 1. A game comprising a base or tray on Which a ball is adapted to bereceived and having neans for holding the ball in various designatedpositions, and means for causing the ball to take an irregular course inpass ing to said base, including a plurality of resilient screensarranged one above the other and on which the ball isadaptedlto bedropped, said screens having a number of apertures through any of whichthe ball may pass in its course to said base. l 2. A game comprising abase or tray on which a ball is adapted to be received and having meansfor holding the ball in various designated positions, and means forcausing the ball to take an irregular course in passing to said base,including a plurality of resilient, mesh screens arranged one above theother and with the Wires of their meshes arranged out of verticalregister, the said screens being adapted to have the ball droppedthereon, whereby the ball is caused to pass successively through theapertures of both screens. 7

Signed at the city, countyand State of New York, this 25th day ofOctober, 1921.

SHOZABURO KAWAI.

